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The Mainichi
21-05-2025
- Science
- The Mainichi
Abel laureate Kashiwara says new discoveries make 'beautiful' math
OSLO (Kyodo) -- Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara, who received the prestigious Abel Prize this year, has said his love for "beautiful" math sustained him through his more than half-century-long research career. Becoming the first Japanese recipient of the award, considered the Nobel Prize for mathematics, the 78-year-old professor emeritus at Kyoto University's Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences said in a recent interview he felt the beauty of math "the moment I proved something new." He also said he "deeply felt" the high value Norway attaches to math education through festivities related to the award, bestowed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, while questioning his own country's approach to math education. In announcing the Abel Prize recipient in March, the academy said it recognized Kashiwara "for his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory," among other achievements, calling him "a true mathematical visionary." His lifelong passion has not dimmed even though his speed of research has "slowed" due to his age, Kashiwara, who now serves as project professor at the Kyoto University institute, said. With the development of the internet drastically changing methods of research, the professor recalled his past days when "it was difficult to find out even what was going on overseas" and said now he is tackling challenging problems by exchanging views online with three mathematicians in South Korea. Kashiwara said he is worried that Japan's system of university entrance examinations and a perception that math is "a memorization subject" could create further aversion to math and reduce students' motivation to pursue careers in the field. He said he sees potential in China, which is proactively attracting willing specialists and where the publishing of scientific papers is increasing. Born in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, Kashiwara earned a master's degree from the University of Tokyo before obtaining a doctorate from Kyoto University. He has been project professor at Kyoto University's Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences since 2010. Under the guidance of his mentor, Mikio Sato, a professor emeritus at Kyoto University, Kashiwara developed the theory of D-modules for his master's thesis in 1970, a framework that has become a fundamental tool in many branches of mathematics. Kashiwara and his colleagues proved the Riemann-Hilbert correspondence, a major problem in mathematics for many years, for holonomic D-modules, around 1980. The Abel Prize award ceremony was held in Norway on Tuesday, with Kashiwara receiving prize money of 7.5 million Norwegian krone ($733,000). It was established in 2002 in connection with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Niels Henrik Abel, a pioneering Norwegian mathematician.


Kyodo News
21-05-2025
- Science
- Kyodo News
Abel laureate Masaki Kashiwara says new discoveries make "beautiful" math
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 14:12 | All, Japan Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara, who received the prestigious Abel Prize this year, has said his love for "beautiful" math sustained him through his more than half-century-long research career. Becoming the first Japanese recipient of the award, considered the Nobel Prize for mathematics, the 78-year-old professor emeritus at Kyoto University's Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences said in a recent interview he felt the beauty of math "the moment I proved something new." He also said he "deeply felt" the high value Norway attaches to math education through festivities related to the award, bestowed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, while questioning his own country's approach to math education. In announcing the Abel Prize recipient in March, the academy said it recognized Kashiwara "for his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory," among other achievements, calling him "a true mathematical visionary." His lifelong passion has not dimmed even though his speed of research has "slowed" due to his age, Kashiwara, who now serves as project professor at the Kyoto University institute, said. With the development of the internet drastically changing methods of research, the professor recalled his past days when "it was difficult to find out even what was going on overseas" and said now he is tackling challenging problems by exchanging views online with three mathematicians in South Korea. Kashiwara said he is worried that Japan's system of university entrance examinations and a perception that math is "a memorization subject" could create further aversion to math and reduce students' motivation to pursue careers in the field. He said he sees potential in China, which is proactively attracting willing specialists and where the publishing of scientific papers is increasing. Born in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, Kashiwara earned a master's degree from the University of Tokyo before obtaining a doctorate from Kyoto University. He has been project professor at Kyoto University's Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences since 2010. Under the guidance of his mentor, Mikio Sato, a professor emeritus at Kyoto University, Kashiwara developed the theory of D-modules for his master's thesis in 1970, a framework that has become a fundamental tool in many branches of mathematics. Kashiwara and his colleagues proved the Riemann-Hilbert correspondence, a major problem in mathematics for many years, for holonomic D-modules, around 1980. The Abel Prize award ceremony was held in Norway on Tuesday, with Kashiwara receiving prize money of 7.5 million Norwegian krone ($733,000). It was established in 2002 in connection with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Niels Henrik Abel, a pioneering Norwegian mathematician. Related coverage: Kyoto Univ. professor becomes 1st Japanese to win Abel Prize in math


Kyodo News
21-05-2025
- Science
- Kyodo News
Abel laureate Masaki Kashiwara says new discoveries make "beautiful" math
KYODO NEWS - 4 minutes ago - 14:12 | All, Japan Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara, who received the prestigious Abel Prize this year, has said his love for "beautiful" math sustained him through his more than half-century-long research career. Becoming the first Japanese recipient of the award, considered the Nobel Prize for mathematics, the 78-year-old professor emeritus at Kyoto University's Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences said in a recent interview he felt the beauty of math "the moment I proved something new." He also said he "deeply felt" the high value Norway attaches to math education through festivities related to the award, bestowed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, while questioning his own country's approach to math education. In announcing the Abel Prize recipient in March, the academy said it recognized Kashiwara "for his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory," among other achievements, calling him "a true mathematical visionary." His lifelong passion has not dimmed even though his speed of research has "slowed" due to his age, Kashiwara, who now serves as project professor at the Kyoto University institute, said. With the development of the internet drastically changing methods of research, the professor recalled his past days when "it was difficult to find out even what was going on overseas" and said now he is tackling challenging problems by exchanging views online with three mathematicians in South Korea. Kashiwara said he is worried that Japan's system of university entrance examinations and a perception that math is "a memorization subject" could create further aversion to math and reduce students' motivation to pursue careers in the field. He said he sees potential in China, which is proactively attracting willing specialists and where the publishing of scientific papers is increasing. Born in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, Kashiwara earned a master's degree from the University of Tokyo before obtaining a doctorate from Kyoto University. He has been project professor at Kyoto University's Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences since 2010. Under the guidance of his mentor, Mikio Sato, a professor emeritus at Kyoto University, Kashiwara developed the theory of D-modules for his master's thesis in 1970, a framework that has become a fundamental tool in many branches of mathematics. Kashiwara and his colleagues proved the Riemann-Hilbert correspondence, a major problem in mathematics for many years, for holonomic D-modules, around 1980. The Abel Prize award ceremony was held in Norway on Tuesday, with Kashiwara receiving prize money of 7.5 million Norwegian krone ($733,000). It was established in 2002 in connection with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Niels Henrik Abel, a pioneering Norwegian mathematician. Related coverage: Kyoto Univ. professor becomes 1st Japanese to win Abel Prize in math


Japan Times
29-03-2025
- Science
- Japan Times
Masaki Kashiwara wins Abel Prize for mathematicians
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters said Wednesday that this year's Abel Prize for mathematicians with distinguished achievements will be given to Masaki Kashiwara, making him the first Japanese to win the award. Kashiwara, 78, a specially appointed professor at Kyoto University's Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, won the award for "his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory, in particular the development of the theory of D-modules and the discovery of crystal bases," the academy said. Masaki Kashiwara, a specially appointed professor at Kyoto University's Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, won this year's Abel Prize. | Jiji "He has proven astonishing theorems with methods no one had imagined. He has been a true mathematical visionary," it said. The Abel Prize, often regarded as the Nobel Prize in mathematics, comes with a monetary award of 7.5 million Norwegian kroner ($710,000, ¥107 million). The prize ceremony is scheduled to take place in Oslo on May 20. Kashiwara contributed to the development of modern mathematics by building from the foundation the theory of D-modules, which is the central concept of algebraic analysis. In the 1980s, he greatly contributed to the development of various fields of modern mathematics, including solving the Riemann-Hilbert problem, which had been a pending issue among mathematicians since the early 20th century. He has received various awards, including the Japan Academy Prize in 1988 and the Chern Medal of the International Mathematical Union in 2018.